Advocacy

On behalf of the cities and towns of the commonwealth, the Massachusetts Municipal Association pursues a wide variety of municipal interests at both the state and federal levels of government. The MMA is active on legislative issues, executive branch decisions, and occasionally state-level court cases.

The MMA advocacy program is based on local government policies developed by permanent and ad hoc policy committees comprised of local officials. Policies are approved by MMA members at the annual meeting held each year in January.

The MMA’s Legislative Division:

• Files a package of MMA-sponsored bills for each two-year legislative session to promote local government interests

• Analyzes and tracks bills filed with the Massachusetts Legislature that could affect local governments, and works with national affiliates, including the National League of Cities, to monitor bills before Congress

• Prepares bulletins and reports for local officials on legislative and executive branch actions and involves members in advocacy activities such as committee testimony and meetings with state officials

• Participates on special commissions and other policy development groups

• Distributes Legislative Alerts to key local officials when the Massachusetts Legislature is in session, providing updates on pending matters of interest to local government

In addition, the Local Government Advisory Commission, comprising the MMA Board of Directors, meets regularly with the governor to discuss issues facing cities and towns and to pursue a strengthening of the state-local partnership.